Chapter 17: The Pain of a Broken Heart

Ben holds Mal against his chest, trying to comfort her. He knows she didn't mean to hurt anyone, but her anger sometimes causes her to get carried away. While he was upset about her lying to him again, he knows he must be there for her, in her time of need.

Fairy Godmother, King Adam, and Queen Belle stand behind the desk, none of them look particularly pleased by what has transpired, but there is some sympathy felt for the girl from the Isle.

"I'm… sorry," Mal weeps. "I'm so sorry."

"We know you are Mal," Fairy Godmother says firmly. "We understand that it is hard for you to leave your old habits behind."

"What do you mean?" Mal asks, wiping tears from her eyes. She tries to embrace the feeling of Ben's arms around her, she doesn't want him to let go.

"We understand it is hard for you to control your magic and use it for your own devices."

"Own devices?" she asks.

"Stealing, vandalism…"

"WHAT?!" the daughter of Maleficent gasps, standing up so abruptly that her boyfriend loses his grip on her. "After all this, you still think I did this?!" She can hardly believe her ears.

"The evidence is pointing to it," Fairy Godmother says.

"WHAT EVIDENCE?! I didn't steal back my spellbook or anything else, I didn't vandalize the school…"

"But you did take a restricted book from the library, kept and used objects that were forbidden on school grounds, and attacked a member of the faculty."

"I didn't mean to," Mal says, trying to keep her anger in check, however, her eyes were illuminating the all too familiar green again.

"Regardless," the headmistress says firmly. "You have broken several rules that can result in suspension and possible expulsion."

"EXPULSION!" Mal gasps. She backs away from the desk, her mind a whirlwind of emotions. She cannot believe that this is happening to her. She made a few bad decisions, but it should not jeopardize her entire future! Words become caught in her throat and she feels like she's choking, her entire body seizes up in panic and anger. "No… please you can't…"

"I must do what is necessary for the good students of Auradon… and until we investigate your claim of Uma's contributions to this mess, we must reduce all the risks…"

"I'm not a risk!" she cries.

However, Mal's eyes light up again, contradicting her statement and almost immediately she can feel that she wants to lash out. It takes most of her strength to remain composed with her powers. However, her eyes begin to fill with confused tears again. Ben tries to approach her for another hug, but she rebuffs him.

"Fine, expel me! Then you can fight Uma on your own but don't come asking me for help when you're in a life or death situation!" she snarls under her breath.

"Until further notice, Mal is suspended from Auradon Preparatory School."

Words fail to leave the girl's mouth, she just gasps, as if air is trying to leave her lungs.

"However, any kind of suspension or expulsion can only be finalized by decree of the king."

Ben's eyes go wide in horror. Of course, he wouldn't get out of this, he had to be there for Mal when she needs him most. He looks at her, equally horrified by this declaration.

"I…I can't suspend Mal…" he manages to choke out. "She's my girlfriend and I love her, I can't do this to her."

There is a small moment of comfort felt between the couple, despite the tension that was slowly building within themselves; Mal of confusion and rage, Ben with sadness.

"Son," King Beast says, giving his son a firm look. "I cannot tell you what to do in this situation. I cannot be the one to make the decision either considering you are now the rightful King of Auradon. You must do what is right for your people and sometimes…" the king and queen both look sadly at Mal. "That means putting your people before your feelings."

"NO!" Ben shouts. "I won't do it. I don't care whether I'm the king or not! My heart and my feelings for Mal come first always!"

"I'm afraid emotions have little to do with important decisions, including the safety of your fellow peers."

"I can't!" Ben says, tears now filling his eyes. "I can't…"

"You must do what is good for the people…" Fairy Godmother says. "But I cannot do anything in terms of an investigation until the threat has been taken care of."

Threat?! Is that what they were seeing her as? Mal clenches her fists together in anger. I'll show you a threat… She stops realizing what's happening. Her dark side, her Isle side is coming back, the evil inherited from her mother. Is she really reverting to her old ways? She can't attack the King, Queen, or headmistress, it would get her expelled and most likely banished from Auradon and sent back to the Isle. Ben would never forgive her for hurting his parents and he would surely turn his back on her if she did. While she was torn for the moment, fear was creeping into her soul, she's afraid of what his answer will be. She must be a good person, a hero and keep her anger in check. She had a good life here, something that was slowly being ruined by Uma and her own bad choices. She knew her future here was now in question, that didn't matter as long as she had a future with Ben…

Ben's mind is a tornado all its own. His heart feels like it's being crushed into dust. His body is being pulled in two different directions, almost to the point that he might be torn in half. He needs to be on Mal's side, otherwise, he'll lose her for good… But if he follows his heart, he'll let his kingdom down and if he doesn't do anything, the investigation would be stalled and Mal's claims would not be investigated any further. He felt like the weight of the world was bearing down on his shoulders and he was crumbling to the ground. Tears burn his eyes, this was the worst situation he's ever been put in. He looks at his parents and then he turns to Mal…

With the heaviest heart imaginable, Ben looks at his girlfriend. "U-Until further notice, Mal is to be suspended from Auradon Prep."

Tears begin pouring from Mal's eyes, which are glowing, but a heavy green, not something that has been seen before. Her heart shatters into a million pieces and unbearable pain surges through her entire body. Some sort of wave of power echoes through the office, causing everything to shake for a moment like an earthquake tremor.

"Mal…" Ben says, trying to explain that it would only be temporary until they found Uma, but she doesn't want to hear it any longer.

"I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" she screams.

She angrily removes the ring he'd given her and tosses it at his feet. She then runs from the room, her tears raining down like a waterfall. The feeling inside of her is agonizing, this is what it was like to have a broken heart. She just wanted to die to end the pain inside of her.

Ben leans down and picks up the ring. Tears are now going down his face, his heart also breaking into many pieces.

His father comes up to him and puts his hand on his shoulder. "You did what you had to do for the kingdom."

"Screw the kingdom!" Ben barks angrily, all his emotions coming to the surface. He shrugs off his father's hand and turns to the adults that put him in this situation. "It's caused me nothing but trouble and just now it made me lose my only happiness! She'll never forgive me now and it's all because I'm king. I hate it and I want to quit! But as your king, I order you to find the real culprit so Mal can come back!" The last few of his words come out in a beastly growl, his father's inner animal instincts that had been passed down were coming to the surface. He then storms from the room, in his own bout of anger and sadness. He wants to follow Mal, go and beg for her forgiveness, but he knew it wouldn't make a difference. She hated him now, their true love was now just a memory, a broken dream stomped on by the kingdom of Auradon. He turns and goes to his own office to think. His door slams, which echoes through the dark and empty school.

"He didn't mean any of that," Queen Belle says calmly. She had tears in her own eyes, devastated by watching her son's heart be broken in such a terrible way. King Adam hands his wife a handkerchief, which she dabs her eyes with. Fairy Godmother looks equally guilty, her hand resting on her chin. She knew she had been harsh on both teenagers, but she had to do what was right, not just for the students, but for everyone. However, now she was questioning her decision. "He's just hurt…"

"We did pressure him into an impossible situation," King Beast admits, looking at his wife with great sadness. He regrets abdicating the throne to Ben, so he could take over, it just seemed to endanger his son and make his life miserable.

However, he did not realize how true this thought was about to become.

…

Mal storms into her shared room with Evie, where her roommate and Dizzy are sketching out some new designs for an upcoming campus party. However, when they see Mal, Evie drops her things. She sees her friends red eyes, which glowed a very dark green, something she had never seen before. She gasps when she sees the tears stains on her bestie's cheeks. Dizzy looks frightened and equally concerned. Before either friend can say anything, more tears fall down the daughter of Maleficent's face and she runs into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

"Mal…" Evie says, going to the door and knocking on it. "Mal what happened? Mal please…"

"What happened?" Dizzy asks.

"I don't know Diz, but I think it had something to do with Ben…"

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